The Minions can function within any time period as long as they serve the Big Boss. What "Minions & Monsters" does is still play to that concept while still paying a heavy tribute to early film history. While the first 1/3 builds up the mythology, the 2nd 1/3 is interesting in that it tells a creative original story about the Minions in Hollywood. The story does get very meta in the end (and in retrospect...the beginning as well) but it is a love letter from the Paris based Illumination back to the beginnings of Hollywood.

Steven Spielberg’s original concepts are pretty good and with a writer like David Koepp who did "Jurassic Park" making something like "Disclosure Day" should be an exceptional run. And while this feels like a more complete Spielberg film than many recent forays, it suffers from a lot of plot holes that take away from its overall power. There are some great moments of wonder for sure but it is almost like not enough time was spent on the script. There are also set pieces that are bridges but don’t really expound on the character structure to move the plot.

After establishing the context of the Super Mario Brothers universe, the second entry in the franchise "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" is a lot more cohesive, effective and linear in what it shows since the boundaries (as they were) are now actually set. The progression and thematics are also more specifically based as is the tone. But the second entry, specifically with the story of Bowser and his son, gives it a little more grounded stakes. And yet the best parts of the movie are Yoshi and Star Fox.

The essence of "Wicked" is the beauty and darkness of what we see behind the scenes of "The Wizard Of Oz". While the first "Wicked" was more about bright colors and drawing the younger audience in, "Wicked: For Good" is the more dynamic of the two. This is simply becomes the fact that despite anything, this is a story of platonic love between two women but how heartbreak can and does happen.

The angle of "Nobody" was the idea of a man brought back out of his shell while trying to be something that he is not. The first movie was a character fighting against himself. "Nobody 2" is about being alright with who you are. Bob Odenkirk gets this guy and realizes the whole point is to place him in different genres.

The approach to rebooting a successful franchise comes down to perspective but also it is about keeping it from going off the rails. The saving grace of "Jurassic Park: Rebirth" is the balance between writer David Koepp (who wrote the screenplay for the first "Jurassic Park" as well as "The Lost World") and director Gareth Edwards who knows a thing or two about restoring franchises.

The essence of doing something like "Wolf Man" the Blumhouse route comes down to perspective. Director Leigh Whannell, known originally for his work with the "Saw" franchise, has been smart in building his resume making these lean and mean films for producer Jason Blum when he could have naturally probably gone and tried bigger fare. "Wolf Man," like certain aspects of Ti West, benefits from this approach.

The aspect of creating a néw perspective on “Twister” 30 years after the original is a different conundrum. Weather has changed. Technology has charged. But people really haven’t. While this version in “Twisters” might be more woke per se, it doesn’t quite have the jolt of fun the original had. Whether this has to do with the actors involved or the differing directors is hard to say.

"Migration" has a sense of itself without getting too lost in its own trevails. This might be the writing of Mike White which is an interesting choice but definitely reflects in every character having both their own argument and point of view without being grating.